South Korea’s short-lived martial law: How it unfolded and what’s next
On Dec. 3, 2024 at 10:23 p.m., South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law for the first time since 1980. Within hours, chaos began to unfold as police scuffled with protesters and soldiers flew in on military helicopters to storm the National Assembly compound in Seoul.
6 hours of chaos
In just a few frantic hours, lawmakers were forced to climb the walls into the National Assembly compound in order to lift the martial law decree after being blocked by military troops and police. Here’s how it unfolded.
Dec. 3 at 10:23 p.m.
President Yoon declares martial law for the first time in 44 years.
An isometric illustration of the National Assembly compound in Seoul, South Korea showing the affected buildings.
10:57 p.m.
Around 30min later, South Korea's National Assembly compound in Seoul closes its entrances.
The seven gates are marked with an x symbol, they are scattered around the edges of the compound with two main gates at the front.
Around 11 p.m.
The main and rear gates are blocked by police who had earlier been alerted by the South Korean president to be on standby. As a result, some lawmakers and staff were forced to climb the walls to get in.
Blue boxes and arrows show where police were seen blocking people from entering.
11:40 p.m. to 1:18 a.m.
Military helicopters were seen landing at the athletic field behind the assembly building. They include UH-60P Black Hawk helicopters from the Special Operations Aviation Group.
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A blue arrow points to the athletic field which is behind the National Assembly building.
Special forces troops were seen in black combat uniforms breaking in via the windows at the back of the building. Park Sun-won, a member of parliament who previously worked for the National Intelligence, concluded that the troops included members of the 707th Special Missions Group, a group tasked with anti-terrorism and top secret missions.
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An arrow shows where the troops entered from the back of the building.
CCTV footage shows troops entering the assembly building.
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The National Assembly building is now highlighted in blue.
Other troops from the 1st Airborne Special Forces Brigade were seen blockading the building exterior. Some scuffles with opposition members were seen here. Inside, staff blockaded the main entrance.
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The entrance to the building is now shown with a blue circle.
1 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Finally, at around 1 a.m., MPs passed a motion to request lifting of martial law. By around 2 a.m., troops had completely pulled out of the compound.
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The morning after the martial law declaration, people began to gather in protest at the National Assembly and at Gwanghwamun Square, near the Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. They were calling for the president’s impeachment or resignation after the chaotic events of the night before.
Where it happened
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A waning approval rating
Yoon, a career prosecutor, squeezed out a victory in the tightest presidential election in South Korean history in 2022, riding a wave of discontent over economic policy, scandals and gender wars.
But he has been unpopular, with his support ratings hovering at around 20% for months. After the martial law incident, his approval rating dropped to 16% on Dec. 06.
Approval ratings for the last five South Korean presidents
Almost all have seen a drop in approval ratings over time served.
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Martial law in South Korea
South Korea's Constitution says the president can declare martial law when it is considered necessary to cope with a military threat or to maintain public safety and order by mobilising military forces. The president's martial law declaration must be reviewed by the cabinet.
When martial law is declared by the president, they must notify the National Assembly of the decision. The president must comply when the National Assembly requests the lifting of martial law by a majority vote of members.
The martial law commander, appointed by the president on the recommendation of the defence minister among active-duty generals, has the power to take actions related to arrests of persons, search and seizure, speech and the press, and assembly.
The commander has authority over all administrative and judicial matters.
A timeline of martial law in South Korea
There have been more than a dozen instances of martial law declaration since South Korea was established as a republic in 1948.
A year by year breakdown of martial law use in South Korea from its first president Syngman Rhee in 1948 to its latest use by Yoon Suk Yeol in 2024. It shows that a few martial laws occured either over a few years, or a shorter period of a few months and were implemented in certain cities or provinces, with just a few nationwide. Martial law use ended in 1980, followed by a relative period of stability with presidents ending their terms on regular basis through till Park Guen-hye’s impeachment in 2016/2017.
What’s next? The impeachment process
On Saturday Dec. 14, Yoon was impeached in a second vote by the opposition-led parliament. The Constitutional Court will decide whether to remove Yoon sometime in the next six months. If he is removed from office, a snap election will be called.
Here’s what the path to impeachment could look like.
Shows the general flowchart and steps to impeachment, which if approved, will lead to an election called within 60 days of the president’s official impeachment.
Sources
National Assembly Secretariat; local media reports; Gallup; Reuters Stories; Joint Chiefs of Staff report (2015)
Additional reporting by
Hyunsu Yim, Jihoon Lee and Jack Kim
Edited by
Rebecca Pazos, Simon Scarr and Claudia Parsons